Approaches to the economic evaluation of agroforestry farming systems

The economics of agroforestry systems can be approached in a purely analytical fashion with mathematical equations and diagrams explaining the principles of analysis. This paper argues that such an approach may be useful for teaching purposes but has little practical relevance. There is an urgent need for a practical tool with which multi-disciplinary teams can asses agroforestry systems. The simplest and most common approaches to the economic analysis of farm management problems are various forms of budgeting. Recent advances in micro-computer technology provide the means by which the principles of partial budgeting can be adapted to the needs of agroforestry taking account of its multiple component nature, seasonal variability and long life span. The paper sets out the specifications for such an approach and indicates how it might be used.